Law Regulating Competition

The Philippine Competition Act (PCA), also known as R.A. 10667, is the Philippines'
main competition policy for promoting and protecting competitive markets. It will safeguard
customers' well-being and maintain the marketplace's efficiency. The PCA was finally approved
in 2015. It is a game-changing piece of legislation that is projected to increase consumer safety
and help the country's investment and job creation, in line with the national government's goal of
more inclusive economic growth. This law's enforcement will aid in maintaining open and free
markets by contesting anticompetitive business activities. This law's enforcement will help to
ensure that markets are open and free, addressing anticompetitive business practices while
preserving a competitive environment where businesses may compete on the quality of their
work. A competitive market is one in which there are several buyers and sellers, lowering market
prices and providing consumers with more options. A highly competitive market stimulates
efficiency and innovation, as well as pushing enterprises to achieve their full potential. The act is
based on the idea that competition will encourage private investment, facilitates technology
development and transfer, and improves resource productivity through encouraging
entrepreneurial spirit.

The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 restricts businesses from obtaining monopolies in
their industries, while the Robinson–Patman Act of 1936 prohibits price discrimination between
retailers and wholesalers. Congress exempted the insurance business from the Sherman Antitrust
Act and other antitrust rules by the McCarran–Ferguson Act of 1944. Insurance companies were
allowed to band together and establish industry-wide insurance pricing. However, if this legal
"license" eliminates competition and prices no longer represent the genuine costs of insurance
cover, it could be seen as reckless and unethical.

Laws Protecting Consumers

The Philippine government adopted RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines of 1991) as the
legal basis for consumer protection in the country. The law embodies the state policy on the
protection of consumers and establishes standards of conduct for business and industry in the
country. The Act aims to protect the “interest of the consumer, promote his general welfare and
establish standards of conduct for business and industry” by adopting the different measures such
as protection against hazards to health and safety; protection against deceptive, unfair and
unconscionable acts and practices; provision of information and education to facilitate sound
choice and the proper exercise of rights by the consumer; provision of adequate rights and means
of redress; and involvement of consumer representatives in the formulation of social and
economic policies.

Price Act No. 7581 protects consumers by stabilizing the prices of basic requirements and prime
commodities, as well as establishing safeguards against unjustified price hikes in the event of an
emergency or similar circumstances. Rice, corn, root crops, fresh meat products, vegetables,
essential medicines, coffee, candles, bread, noodles, bottled water, LPG, and kerosene are
examples of basic requirements as defined by the Price Act. Prime commodities, such as
manufactured and processed goods, grain, and construction materials, are not basic necessities
but are crucial to customers.

Law Promoting Equity and Safety

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 mandates that women and men who do equal work must receive equal pay.
Wage differences are allowed only if they can be attributed to seniority, performance, or qualifications.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination

against people with disabilities.With the enactment of Republic Act No. 11058, Filipino workers are given
better protection in the workplace. This law ensures safer workplaces by requiring employers to provide
complete safe work procedures, information dissemination about work-related hazards, safety and health
training, and protective equipment. Workers are also encouraged to have a better understanding of the
risks that come with their occupations, to know that they have the right to refuse unsafe work, to report
accidents, and to participate in the safety and health program of their employers. Another law is RA 6725
that prohibits discrimination with respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on the basis
of sex. Under this law, any employer favoring a male employee over a female in terms of promotion,
training opportunities, and other benefits solely on account of sex is considered discrimination

Laws protecting the Environment

REPUBLIC ACT 9003 ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2000

In partnership with stakeholders, the law aims to adopt a systematic, comprehensive

and ecological solid waste management program that shall ensure the protection of
public health and environment. The law ensures proper segregation, collection, storage,
treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adaptation of best
eco-waste products.

REPUBLIC ACT 9275 PHILIPPINE CLEAN WATER ACT OF 2004

The law aims to protect the country's water bodies from pollution from land-based
sources (industries and commercial establishments, agriculture and
community/household activities). It provides for comprehensive and integrated strategy
to prevent and minimize pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach
involving all the stakeholders.

REPUBLIC ACT 8749 PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999

The law aims to achieve and maintain clean air that meets the National Air Quality
guideline values for criteria pollutants, throughout the Philippines, while minimizing the
possible associated impacts to the economy.
REPUBLIC ACT 6969 TOXIC SUBSTANCES, HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR WASTE
CONTROL ACT OF 1990

The law aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture, processing,
sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures the present
unreasonable risk to human health. It likewise prohibits the entry, even in transit, of
hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for
whatever purpose; and to provide advancement and facilitate research and studies on
toxic chemicals.

Safe Drinking Water Act, 1974 Established to protect the quality of drinking water in the

United States; focused on all waters actually or potentially

designed for drinking use, whether from aboveground or

underground sources; established safe standards of purity

and required all owners or operators of public water systems

to comply with primary (health-related) standards.

Toxic Substances Control Act, 1976 Requires testing and restricts use of certain
chemical

substances, to protect human health and the environment.

Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act, 1976

Gives the EPA authority to control hazardous waste from the

“cradle to grave”; includes the generation, transportation,

treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well

as a framework for the management of nonhazardous waste.

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act, 1980

Created a tax on chemical and petroleum industries and

provides broad federal authority to respond directly to

releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that

may endanger public health or the environment.

Emergency Planning and

Community Right-to-Know Act,

1986

The national legislation on community safety, designed to

help local communities protect public health, safety, and the

environment from chemical hazards.

Oil Pollution Act, 1990 Streamlined and strengthened the EPA’s ability to prevent

and respond to catastrophic oil spills; a trust fund fi nanced by

a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible

party is incapable or unwilling to do so.

Pollution Prevention Act, 1990 Focuses industry, government, and public attention on

reducing the amount of pollution through cost-eff ective

changes in production, operation, and raw materials use..Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Congress approved the Sarbanes–Oxley Act in 2002 to establish a system of federal

monitoring of corporate accounting procedures, partly in response to numerous corporate
accounting scandals. The law mandates firms to adopt codes of conduct for financial reporting
and to provide greater openness in financial reporting to investors and other stakeholders, in
addition to making fraudulent financial reporting a criminal offense and toughening the penalties
for corporate fraud.

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act was passed with bipartisan support to restore stakeholder
confidence after accounting fraud at Enron, WorldCom, and hundreds of other firms resulted in
investors and employees losing a large portion of their savings. Hundreds of firms have not fairly
disclosed their financial performance, according to the investigations that followed. Many
stakeholders came to feel that accounting firms, lawyers, top executives, and corporate boards of
directors had fostered a culture of lying in order to achieve investor acceptance and a competitive
advantage. Many boards have failed to give adequate scrutiny of their companies' top executives'
decisions.

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act received nearly unanimous support from Congress, government
regulatory agencies, the president, and the general public as a result of public outrage over the
accounting scandals. When President George W. Bush signed the Sarbanes–Oxley Act into law,
he highlighted the need for new ethical standards in the workplace, particularly among top
executives and boards of directors who are responsible for reviewing company choices and
actions. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is at the heart of the Sarbanes–Oxley
Act, and it is responsible for overseeing accounting firms that audit public companies as well as
establishing standards and norms for accounting firms' auditors. The statute gave the board of
directors investigative and disciplinary authority over auditors and securities analysts who
publish reports on the company's performance and health. The law aims to avoid conflicts of
interest by forbidding accounting firms from offering both auditing and consulting services to the
same client company without specific approval from the client's audit committee, as well as
limiting the amount of time lead auditors can serve a client.

1. Greater accountability of top managers and boards of directors to employees,

investors, communities, and society

2. Renewed investor confidence

3. Clear explanations by CEOs as to why their compensation package is in the best inter-

est of the company; the loss of some traditional senior-management perks such as

company loans; greater disclosures by executives about their own stock trades

4. Greater protection of employee retirement plans

5. Improved information from stock analysts and rating agencies

6. Greater penalties for and accountability of senior managers, auditors, and board

members

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act requires corporations to take greater responsibility for

their decisions and to provide leadership based on ethical principles. For instance, the

law requires top managers to certify that their firms’ financial reports are complete and

accurate, making CEOs and CFOs personally accountable for the credibility and accuracy

of their companies’ financial statements. Similar provisions are required of corporate

 boards of directors, especially audit committees, and senior financial officers are now

subject to a code of ethics that addresses their specific areas of risk. Additionally, the

law modifies the attorney–client relationship to require lawyers to report wrongdoing

to top managers and/or the board of directors. It also provides protection for “whistle-

blowing” employees who might report illegal activity to authorities. These provisions

provide internal controls to make managers aware of and responsible for legal and ethical

problems. Table 4–7 summarizes the benefits of the legislation.

On the other hand, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act has raised a number of concerns.

The complex law may impose burdensome requirements on executives; the rules and

regulations already run to thousands of pages. Some people also believe that the law will

not be sufficient to stop those executives who want to lie, steal, manipulate, or deceive.

They believe that a deep commitment to managerial integrity, rather than additional rules

and regulations, are the key to solving the current crisis in business.27 Additionally, the
new

act has caused many firms to restate their financial reports to avoid penalties. Big public

companies spent thousands of hours and an average of $4.4 million each annually to
make

sure that someone was looking over the shoulder of key accounting personnel at every

step of every business process, according to Financial Executives International. Section

404 is a core provision of the 2002 corporate reform law. The number of companies that

disclosed serious chinks in their internal accounting controls jumped to more than 586 in

2005 compared to 313 in 2004